Photographer: Etienne Ansotte

Press conference by Harald Wögerbauer, Member of the European Court of Auditors, on the ECA special report entitled 'Are EU Cohesion Policy funds well spent on roads?'

Harald Wögerbauer, Member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), gave a press conference following the publication of the ECA special report on the significant cost differences between EU-cofinanced road projects. This special report (SR 05/2013) is entitled “Are EU Cohesion Policy funds well spent on roads?” The ECA assessed whether the EU Cohesion Policy funds’ road infrastructure projects have achieved their objectives at a reasonable cost? The audit involved co-financed road projects in Germany, Greece, Poland and Spain. These four Member States have the highest allocations of Cohesion Policy funding for roads in the period 2000 – 2013, representing approximately 62 % of all EU road co-financing. The audit covered motorways (10 projects), express roads (10 projects) and ordinary two-lane trunk roads (4 projects). At the press conference, Harald Wögerbauer was accompanied by the following persons: Pietro Puricella, Head of Unit at the ECA, Joël Costantzer, Head of cabinet of Harald Wögerbauer, Erki Must, Team leader at the ECA, and Aidas Palubinskas, Press officer at the ECA.